Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth

Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (Jefferson-Friedrich Volker Benjamin Graf von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, born 12 July 1967) is the son of Count Friedrich-August Rüdiger Albrecht von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth and Astrid Maria Andres.

Marriage

He married Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg on 6 June 1998,^[1] becoming the husband of a member of the Danish royal family.

His wife is the daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, whose elder sister is Queen Margrethe II. The couple were married at Gråsten Palace, the Danish royal family's summer residence in southern Jutland. According to an article in the Copenhagen Post, Princess Alexandra was granted Danish citizenship just prior to her marriage. The couple were sweethearts during their childhood years at Louisenlund school, in Germany.^[2]

Titles and styles

In Germany titles were abolished after the First World War, and incorporated into the surname. Jefferson's title in pretence is Graf, the English equivalent of Count. In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, he would be known as a Greve.

He is styled as Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth.

Family

The couple resided in Paris, where Count Jefferson was a managing director of the Swiss bank Sal. Oppenheim.^[3]

Since 2013 they live in Heidesheim, Germany, near Mainz.^[4]

They have two children:

• Count Friedrich Richard Oscar Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 14 September 1999 at the Rigshospitalet). Count Richard was christened in the chapel of Schloss Berleburg, Berleburg, Germany, on 18 December 1999. His godparents are Gustav, Hereditary Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (maternal uncle), Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark (mother's maternal first cousin), Prince Philipp of Hesse, (mother's paternal cousin) Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Countess Andrea of Pfeil-Haag, and Nadine Kettaneh-Farah (father's cousin). He is named after his grandfather Prince Richard von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.
• Countess Ingrid Alexandra Irma Astrid Benedikte von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 16 August 2003, at Rigshospitalet the Copenhagen University Hospital). Countess Ingrid was christened at the chapel, Schloss Berleburg, Berleburg, Germany. Her godparents are Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (maternal aunt), Countess Bettina von Pfeil and Klein-Ellguth (paternal aunt), Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (mother's maternal first cousin), Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark (mother's maternal first cousin) and Prince Georg of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, Martin Bleyer. She is named after her great-grandmother Ingrid of Sweden.

They are always among the Danish royal family for the summer holidays at Gråsten Palace.

Footnotes